Whose numbers these are
NOAA's engineering weather data has no Appleton station. The figures below are the Green Bay station's, about 21 miles from Appleton, quoted as NOAA publishes them. Read them as a reference point, not as Appleton's own readings.
In an average year at Green Bay, about 21 miles from Appleton, NOAA counts about 165 hours with the wet-bulb temperature above 73°F and about 701 hours above 67°F.
NOAA's engineering weather data for Green Bay, near Appleton lists a 50-year basic wind speed of 90 mph (3-second gust at 33 feet), a 100-year rainfall rate of 2.5 inches per hour and about 66 freeze-thaw cycles in an average year.
How painters read figures like these
None of these numbers tells a painter whether next Tuesday is a good day; the product label and the forecast do that. What station figures do is sketch what a finish has to survive once it's on.
- Wet-bulb hours fold heat and humidity together. In general, the more warm, humid hours, the slower water-based paint gives up its water, and the longer a coat stays soft enough to pick up dust, pollen, insects or a handprint.
- Freeze-thaw cycles matter wherever water can get behind paint. Each freeze is a chance for trapped water to expand under the film and lift it.
- Rainfall rate is an engineering value for intense storms. It's a reminder that any open joint will be tested by driven water.
Exterior: closing the gaps
Because freeze-thaw damage starts where water gets in, much of an exterior proposal's value sits in sealing and priming rather than in the topcoat. Look for these in the scope:
- scraping loose paint back to a sound edge and feathering the edges smooth;
- priming bare wood soon after it's exposed, before it weathers;
- caulking joints between trim and siding, while leaving the drip edges of lap siding open;
- setting popped nails and priming the heads;
- extra attention to sill ends and the bottom edges of boards, where water sits longest.
Our exterior painting page explains each step.
Interior: the closed-window season
When outside work isn't possible, interior painting goes on, with timing questions of its own. With windows shut and the heat on, air movement becomes the main issue: even low-odor paints need moving air to dry and to carry off what they release. Ask the painter about fans, how rooms will be closed off from the rest of the house, and how long before furniture can go back. Rooms that make their own moisture, such as bathrooms and laundry areas, may call for a paint made for them, a point covered on interior painting.
Lead-safe programs
EPA runs the RRP program in states it has not authorized; on EPA's list, Wisconsin is one of the states running its own EPA-authorized program. That is the only statement this page makes about it. If old paint will be sanded or scraped, ask the painter how dust and chips will be contained and cleaned up, and expect that to appear as a step in the proposal.
Putting a plan together
- Decide whether the exterior and interior are one job or two, and which comes first.
- Ask each painter for a written scope with prep steps, primer, coats and products named.
- Ask how they decide a day is fit for outdoor painting, and how weather delays are handled.
- Ask what they'll do if they find soft wood under old paint, and how that's priced.
- Keep the paint names and color codes afterward for touch-ups.
For the interior prep that most affects how a finish looks, read drywall repair and surface preparation.